Death's Night
by Ember-Angel
Summary: It all began with a betrayal and escalated to much more. No lady is safe and it is only a matter of time till the king, Battousai, leaves them for dead. That is until Lady Kaoru steps in to save his soul and the ladies with her talent for story telling. B
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or Arabian Nights ok.

**Prologue **

There once was a just king who had two sons. The elder was quiet and learned what his father had to say although there was something sly within him. The younger was quick to temper and possessive, but he was compassionate and cared for his people. The king's name was Hiko and he loved both of his sons and taught them swordplay, hand combat and archery. As the two boys grew, the Hiko was very careful with his younger son, Kenshin, who was extremely talented with the sword but also to ready to fight. Akira, the older brother, was being trained in the ways of the heir and was confident that he would be the next king. What Akira and others in the kingdom didn't realize was that Hiko may have appeared ignorant, but in truth there was sharp cunning under that laziness.

When King Hiko declared that he would be leaving on a journey and would most likely never be returning, Akira was prepared to be crowned. Before Hiko left, he would chose his heir to take over the throne. To the shock of the entire court and the sons, Kenshin was named heir and king. Hiko packed for his journey and after leaving advice for his son Kenshin, he left. A baffled son was left to keep the country together and live a life he never thought to have. Akira was never truly the same after the announcement and a burning hatred for the new king sparked in his heart. Many people knew the younger son well because he spent much time with them and cared about them. As a consequence, the new king had many loyal subjects and friends that helped him to rule.

One day, Kenshin met a beautiful young lady who was new to court. Mesmerized, Kenshin began a full courting to the Lady Tomoe who encouraged his love for her. His best friend and advisor, Sano, did not trust this cunning beauty and tried to reason with Kenshin. It was no use; Kenshin allowed this young love to take him and soon married the Lady Tomoe. The king allowed her to do all that she wished and began to neglect his responsibilities for Sano to take care of. What the king did not see was that Tomoe was prideful and spoiled. The important thing he never saw was that she soon fell in love with his brother Akira and was sneaking off to be with him. When Akira lost the throne he began to gather men under him who would help him take the throne for himself. Akira fell in love with Tomoe and after seeing how much Kenshin loved her; he was jealous. Akira saw that Tomoe loved him more and encouraged her to stay with him. He would kill Kenshin and they could rule together. Akira convinced Tomoe to try to kill Kenshin while he sneaked some of his soldiers in.

That night Tomoe seduced her husband to bed early and while he was kissing her she pulled out her dagger. Kenshin heard the dagger as it was pulled from the sheath and opened his eyes in time to see her trying to stab him. In shock, the king yanked the dagger from her hands and stepped away. At that time Tomoe yelled out for Akira to kill Kenshin. Kenshin grabbed his katana and killed the soldiers with the deadly Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu style, but was injured on his cheek by the last soldier. Tomoe ran to Akira and embraced him while Kenshin watched, betrayed. Angrily he raced across the room to attack his brother, but Tomoe moved into his path right as he made a stab at Akira. Tomoe sank to the ground and took the dagger to complete the X mark on his cheek. More soldiers snuck in and while Kenshin called for the guards, Akira took Tomoe's body far away.

Sano did not have the guts to tell Kenshin 'I told ya so.' But Kenshin felt stupid and betrayed by what Tomoe had done. His eyes changed from a cheerful amethyst into dangerous amber after Akira and Tomoe's betrayal. He went back to work on his kingdom with a vengeance and ruled his kingdom strictly. After over two years since Tomoe's death, other advisors of the king realized that although their king was still young, the king still needed an heir. They pushed the king, who everyone now called Battousai, to marry again and have children. The problem was that the king no longer trusted women and saw them as sneaky witches. In response to their pushing, Battousai married one of the ladies that were set apart for him to choose. The next day, the people were horrified to find that the king sentenced his new bride to death only hours after the marriage. In truth the king would only send her away after the marriage and when the wicked advisors saw that he would the marriage, they would have her killed. Soon he was marrying a new girl every day and the executioner was finding that he was gaining much money. The people raced to hide or help their daughters escape into the country and away from their king. Although he still ruled fairly and protected them from other countries, they loved their daughters to much to let him kill them. Sano was soon pushed into the shadows as new advisors and the executioner were listened to more. Sano was still in charge of many important decisions and groups, but he and Aoshi (The commander of the guards) were ignored by the king.

As the kingdom began to despair, a young woman saw the deaths of friends and realized that this could tear the kingdom apart. She could not watch in the shadows as her dear friends were killed while she did nothing. She was a quick thinker, innocent, and as it so happened was cared deeply for her childhood friend Kenshin Himura, the king. A plan soon entered her mind on how to protect the ladies of the kingdom and save her king. She would see this plan through or die trying. Although it seemed more likely that she would die.

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_This is the end of the prologue. I hope you liked it! This first part was mainly the background and that is why it has no dialogue. This will have around the same story line as the movie Arabian Nights, but will also be very, very different. At least that is what I am hoping for. I don't have anyone really proofreading yet, but my sister said she would so please forgive any mistakes. I hope to get some reviews and I will be updating soon. I'm actually working on the next chapter now. Thanks!_


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or Arabian Nights. Okay?

**Chapter 1**

"Kaoru! I refuse to even allow you to think about doing this," Sano yelled at her as she calmly sat at her desk. "This is suicide! No girl has lasted till morning and neither will you."

Kaoru sighed and held her face in her hands while she thought. She had a plan that would hopefully pull back the Kenshin she knew before he had ever met Tomoe. Kaoru sneered at the thought of that… 'woman' and the ease with which she betrayed such a loving man. Kenshin was always kind to Kaoru and her brother; he had even made Sano an advisor when he became king. Then Tomoe came to court. Kaoru did not trust her but gave no real thought to the lady. It wasn't until she noticed that Kenshin was spending so much time with Tomoe that Kaoru truly realized what was happening. Kaoru was pushed into the shadows long before her brother was and because of that she had picked up some new skills.

One was that, since she was in a way an outcast to the king, Kaoru was an outcast to the court and therefore ignored. That gave her the opportunity to sneak around and gain alliances with people everywhere. This included the Oniwaban group of spies with whom her friend Misao lived and learned. The Oniwaban helped evacuate young ladies to houses in the countryside, secretly of course. Another talent she was able to develop was the skill of story telling, learned from a man in the market. She often used her skills to slip away and meet with the man until she was able to tell a story that would keep the most stubborn person in history interested. That was going to be part of her plan, more than likely the most important part.

"Listen Sano. I can't sit around anymore as more girls are killed. Not only is it horrible that they are dying, but Kenshin is also dying. Slowly, but surely. I cannot watch our best friend and king kill himself because of one mistake in the past," Kaoru said to him once he stopped pacing. "What if the advisors decided to do something about you and threatened to bring Megumi as their next victim? Not only would my friend and your love be killed, but you would feel betrayed and they would try to take over your responsibilities. And what if you got mad at Battousai? He would most likely have you killed for betrayal even if you are his best friend. And what would happen to me then? Think Sano, think. Anyway, I don't have much of a choice because the other advisors already have plans for me to go next."

Sano collapsed into the seat next to her and held her hands. "If anything were to happen to you I don't know what I would do! You are my only sister and I don't want to see you die by the hand of a man we once trusted. There is, most likely, nothing more that can be done about bringing him back."

"Sano, please! This is something I must do and I would much rather have your approval than not. There are still so many girls that cannot escape from the Bride's Room. I promised them that I would do all I could do to protect them and if this continues we may have civil war. The people will not continue to put up with the deaths and only too soon there will be a rebellion. Please!" Kaoru begged uncharacteristically for her stubborn nature.

Sano actually looked at his sister and knew that this was not something that he would be able to convince her not to do. Sadly, he thought back to when life was easier and his sister was happy. It seemed so long ago and Sano missed hearing his sister laugh. He missed laughter in general; because the ladies were being taken or hidden there was no female laughter and the ones still around were to terrified to laugh. For a jokester it was tiring and horrible to live like that. He once again cursed Kenshin for not listening when he warned him that Tomoe was no good.

"Fine little Missy," Sano said exasperated as he held her face. "I will allow this to happen, but I will not be happy about it."

"I know and I am sorry," Kaoru replied sadly. "I must go now. For my plan to work I need to talk to Misao about disguises. Oh…and tell Aoshi that Misao is doing well for all that she is always getting into trouble."

"Yes, yes. Just…..be careful, okay?" Sano called after his sister as she left. Kaoru just nodded her head and walked out the door.

Kaoru prepared herself for the ceremony later that afternoon with Megumi and the girls from the Bride's Room. She was beautiful in her wedding kimono with different shades of blue for every layer. Phoenixes danced in the sky on the front layer with a moon shining on the back. Her waist length hair was tied gracefully in interlocking patterns that dropped locks down her back. The makeup and face paint was extremely light, only because Kaoru insisted on not covering her face from her groom. The ladies watched her sadly but were thankful they were not next. Hopefully Kaoru would find some way to save them all from their dreary deaths. Most of these ladies had had dreams and their own young men; now they were all but sentenced to death.

"Please help us Kaoru, please!" The girls all cried. They wished to see the light of day and be with their parents. It had only been two or three weeks since the advisors set the whole marriage system up and at the rate things were heading they would all die.

"I'm trying my dears! I only want to save you and bring the kingdom back to the way it was." Kaoru said as she comforted the younger women with hugs. "Do not despair. I will try my hardest and you can pray to the gods."

Suddenly the door to the chambers opened to allow guards to escort Megumi and Kaoru out of the room. One of the girls held Kaoru's hand until she was forced to let go. Some of the younger girls cried in despair and sorrow as yet another young lady was taken away.

Meanwhile, Megumi left to find a seat and Sano came to escort Kaoru to the ceremony. Guards followed of course; after the first girl tried to run away the executioner sent two guards or more to watch them. When they reached the door that lead to where the ceremony would be held Sano reached over and gave Kaoru a kiss on the cheek and a hug. Kaoru pulled as much comfort as she could from that last hug and kept it in her memory for the troubling days ahead. Nodding her head as her signal that she was ready, they prepared themselves before walking in.

Most of the court had come to the ceremony even though it was repeated every night. This time was different because it was an important lady, Lady Kaoru, who was to be "sacrificed" this night. For many it was a sad occasion; not only were they sad that Kaoru had to die but they remembered the girls from before. Some of those ladies had parents in this very room who were grieving.

Kaoru took a deep breath to soothe herself and for all appearances was a calm, beautiful woman. On the inside there were some doubts and a terrified little girl cried to be free of this room and these responsibilities. It was not her fault that these girls were dying, but she would stop it anyways. She moved gracefully down the aisle and knelt next to the man responsible for everything. This was the man with whom she had played as a child and loved even now.

His red hair was such a beautiful silky color and it glided down his back from its high ponytail. The king was wearing a royal blue color gi and white hakama, with his swords hanging from his belt. He had a body that was sinewy, but he wasn't very tall. He made up for that shortness by his commanding presence and dangerous amber eyes. Eyes that seemed to see into your very soul and could tear apart your life. Those amber eyes were looking straight ahead at the moment and his body knelt stiffly next to her.

The ceremony went by quickly, or at least to Kaoru it seemed to. This wasn't exactly what she had imagined as a young girl when she played with Sano, Kenshin, Aoshi, and Megumi. She and Megumi had had a whole discussion about how they would marry the man they loved and everyone would be happy at the ceremony. Sano had laughed at them and teased them mercilessly until Kenshin finally stopped Sano before Kaoru and Megumi could beat him up. Those times shone so brightly in her memory and she thought back on them with a grin. Rather, she grinned inwardly. There was no reason for her to be grinning at this time and it would look very suspicious for her to do so now.

Once the ceremony was finished, guards came to escort their new queen and prisoner to her rooms. Kenshin left down a different corridor and would be coming to their chambers later. Kaoru shut the door behind her, leaving the guards to protect/keep her in her….their...rooms. It was hard to believe that she was truly married to Kenshin, but then this wasn't the Kenshin she used to know. The man she was now married to called himself Battousai and she felt slightly heartbroken at the thought that she was married to a man who did not love her. Despair came to her, but she quickly pushed it back as she prepared for the night by dressing in a beautiful yukata. If all went well she would have at least one more night to think of such things.

At that moment Battousai came into the bedchambers in quick strides. Kaoru bowed the proper greeting to her king and husband and stood back up. Battousai sat down on the edge of the bed as she returned to her seat at her dresser table. Kaoru tilted her head up just in time to catch Battousai's eyes. Amber looked deeply into Sapphire as Kaoru hid little from her husband's harsh gaze.

"Why did you, a high noble, give yourself willingly to be my wife?" Battousai asked, surprising Kaoru as she slowly looked away. "I know that there are organizations taking away many of the ladies, including highborn. You had little to fear; you probably would have never been chosen."

'That's what you think. No one is safe.' Kaoru kept from saying that out loud though and turned her eyes back to Battousai. "I have a story to tell you, your majesty. I had hoped that you would want to hear it."

This time it was Battousai that was surprised and Kaoru felt proud of herself for getting to him at least once. "A story!" He looked at her with slight amusement. "That is not one I have heard of before. Hmm……I think I shall allow you to tell me a story. Speak, little kitten, I am listening."

"Thank you, my lord." Kaoru bowed and then stepped over to sit on the other end of the bed. For a second she wished that there had been at least a glimpse of recognition, but he seemed to no longer care about their childhood. 'So much for hoping.' Making herself comfortable she prepared to weave her story through the long and trying night. He leaned back against the footboards and gazed intently at her as she started her story.

**(("In the land of Persia there was a legend of a beautiful princess who could make gold out of rock. The tradition in the land was to send the sons out when they come of age to search for the princess. Very few people actually believed that there was a princess, but the young men often learned to grow up. One day, two brothers were sent out on their journey. The elder brother, Sula, was prepared to have a good time even if they found nothing, but the younger, Asha, only wished for treasure.**

**When they traveled through an ancient forest, they came across bandits by the name of Coda next to a waterfall. Hiding in the bushes, they listened to the black gang's plans and secret combinations. "We must come later in the day to take her elsewhere. Until then, leave the dragon in charge of her." The head bandit, Rakish, commanded the others. One by one the Coda left and the two brothers were left to contemplate what they had just heard.**

**"Brother, do you think that they are talking about what I think they are talking about!" Sula said in excitement to his brother.**

**"I don't know….. can we truly trust what they say? It could be a trap to take our money." Asha replied, not at all ready to have an adventure.**

**Sula shook his head at Asha and hurried down the bluff. Carefully making sure that no bandits were still around, Sula hurried to the waterfall. Looking back once more, he turned away and ran into to the cliff wall under the falls. Surprisingly to Sula, there was a deep cave on the other side. Stepping timidly into the cave he was amazed at the beauty of the cave. Gold lay everywhere and some of the walls were pure gold. Wonderingly, Sula walked in deeper only to tumble back as he came across a gigantic dragon.**

**The dragon snorted smoke at him and opened it's mouth slowly. Prepared to die at the mouth of this enormous beast, he bowed deeply to the dragon in forgiveness. As the minutes passed by, Sula realized that he was not dead and that the dragon had not moved. Looking up, he found the dragon staring at him in amusement.**

**"Well mortal," The dragon said. "I am impressed with your respect. No one who has entered my domain has ever bowed to me. I shall not kill you and I shall let you pass if you do something for me."**

**Sula was just happy to be alive, but he nodded at the dragon. "What is it that you wish for me to do?"**

**"The Coda has not feed me since they put me in charge of protecting this cave." The dragon replied. "But if you will bring me something to eat, then you may pass. But, I am warning you now that you are not to take any of my gold. There are other treasures at the end you may have, but the gold is not one of them. "**

**Sula nodded and headed back out of the cave. Heading back to his brother, Sula informed him that he had to do a task for the dragon. He grabbed his bow and arrows to go and find something large enough to eat. When Sula returned, he took his two deer and dragged them into the cave. The dragon was starving and happily took the kills from Sula, allowing him to pass by into a tunnel at the back.**

**The tunnel was bright the further he walked in and Sula peered around in surprise. More and more gold lay on the ground and if he were any lesser man, he would have stopped long before to pocket at least one piece. But Sula remembered the warning of the dragon and he continued to walk on by. After what seemed like hours, he made it into a large cavern. Beautiful carpets and jewels were laying everywhere, but what he saw first was a beautiful young lady crying on some cushions.**

**Carefully, he walked up behind her and held patted her back. The lady jumped in surprise and looked at him in shock. "You are not the Coda." She said to him.**

**"No, my name is Sula and I am a simple man looking for adventure." Sula said quietly. "What is wrong milady? Why do you cry so?"**

**"I cry because I do not wish to be a prisoner of the Coda any longer." She replied. "I want to live my life in the open and with a family. But the fates have never allowed me my dream."**

**"I shall save you milady. And you shall be free to do as you choose." He told her kindly.**

**She gave him a hug in gratitude and wept on his shoulder. "My name is Kira and I will gladly go with you Sula."**

**Sula held her hand and led her out into the cave entrance. The dragon had finished his kills and was lying down in his gold, ignoring them. Sula guided her down the path and to where his brother Asha was waiting. Once there, Sula introduced Kira to Asha and described what had happened to him. Asha became angry that Sula would trade all of those wonderful treasures for a girl. He decided that he would get something for himself, so that he could go home and be rich. Sula tried to convince him not to, but Asha would not listen.**

**Asha traveled up the path and into the cave where the dragon was lying. The dragon looked up when he saw someone different than before entering. Asha walked to the dragon and bowed down like his brother did.**

**"Another man has bowed to me in one day." The dragon said interestingly. "I am impressed with the youth of this generation. I am sure you wish to pass into the tunnel, but you must do something for me. Bring me two large bags of the leaves on the tree next to the waterfall for they will make a comfortable bed. I shall warn you now that when you do enter the tunnel, do not take any of my gold. Other treasures wait for you at the end."**

**Asha nodded and hurried to retrieve the bags of leaves. His task was simple and soon he was traveling down the tunnel. The gold along his path was tempting and he looked at it greedily. Asha decided to not take any gold until he came to the end and saw what was there. In the cavern, Asha saw so many precious things that he grinned wickedly. This was what he was meant for, not to a simple farmer.**

**After grabbing many jewels, crowns, and a jewel encrusted carpet, Asha believed that he was ready. The path back to the cave passed by slowly as the treasures slowed him down. Asha stopped for a break and leaned against a gold wall. For the second time Asha truly looked at the gold and soon found himself mesmerized. He took a small piece and put it into his pocket, not believing that the dragon would ever find it.**

**When he came into the cave he saw that the dragon was lying in his bed of leaves, asleep. Asha sneered at the supposed 'Watchdog' and headed out of the cave. All of the sudden, the dragon jumped from his spot and knocked Asha down to the ground. He snarled angrily at the greedy man and leaned down to Asha's face.**

**"I told you not to steal my gold," The dragon said angrily. "You are a greedy man because you could not live with the treasures I gave you and took my gold. You shall become my next meal."**

**Outside of the cave, Sula heard his brother yell in fear and prepared to go to help him. Before he could get far, Kira stopped him from running down the bluff. At that moment, the Coda rode back into the area under the waterfall.**

**"No Sula," Kira whispered. "The dragon has already killed your brother for stealing his gold. There is nothing you can do and you promised to save me from the Coda. We must leave now, before the Coda realizes that I am gone."**

**Sula nodded and helped her onto his brother's horse. The two of them quickly headed out of the forest and towards the city, Clirak. On the way to the city, Sula stopped them for the night. While he made their meal, Kira prepared the bedding for the night. As he made the meal, Sula picked up a rock next to where he was his fire. Tossing it up lightly, he turned to Kira and told her to think fast. Looking up, she barely caught the rock but her face went white as she held it.**

**"What is wrong Kira?" Sula asked. "I am sorry if I hurt you."**

**Kira shook her head and a tear traveled down her face. "It is not that. It's just that……." She showed him the rock which had turned to gold.**

**"I am the princess that can turn rock into gold." She said sadly. "But I hate it, for all that it does is make my life miserable."**

**"Do not worry Kira," Sula told her as he held her to him. "I do not care that you can make gold. You are still my friend and I shall protect you."**

**As that was happening, the Coda finally realized that their gold making princess was gone. Rakish angrily made a vow that they would kill the person who took her. He gathered the men together and they headed to the nearest city to find if any rich man had arrived.**

**By the time they had arrived, Kira had made gold for Sula in gratitude for helping her. Sula continued to protect her and bought a beautiful home for them to live in. Kira did not wish to call attention to themselves, but knew that they had little chance of that since they were new in town and rich. She convinced Sula that she would disguise herself as his serving women, so that she didn't call attention to them.**

**A month after they arrived and had been living there, the Coda started to sneak in. They soon found out about a young man with much gold, who had arrived not to long ago with a serving woman. They hide around until they were able to see the woman and recognize her. A week later, Rakish gathered the men outside of the city so that they could plan their revenge. And so the evil black Coda walked up the city gates, prepared to slaughter Sula and everyone in his house…."))**

The two of them sat for a few moments in silence until Battousai sent her an annoyed glance. "Why did you stop? What is the matter? What happened to Kira and did the Coda kill Sula?"

Kaoru sighed, relieved that he was hooked. The problem would be if he did not care that she had stopped at such a critical moment. Truthfully it wasn't comforting to have him glaring at her with those amber eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"Nothing is wrong, husband," Kaoru said tiredly. "It is already morning and I am tired."

"It is always night for me." Battousai moved off the bed and to the window, where he discovered it was truly morning.

"I will finish the story tomorrow night," Kaoru informed him with a small smile. "The mood at night is the best time to tell stories. Just wait till tomorrow night."

"No! You will tell me tonight!" Battousai yelled at her as he grabbed her arm, pulling her up to him.

"Please. Just wait till tomorrow night," Kaoru begged as she tried to slowly slip out of his grip. "Tomorrow!"

Battousai glared at her and then yanked her towards a side door to the chambers. There was the faint shape of someone on the other side of the door. Kaoru began to tremble and she cursed herself for not working hard enough.

"There is someone I think you should meet," Battousai mumbled to her as he threw open the door.

On the other side of the door stood the executioner and some of the advisors. Kaoru gave a small whimper and tried to grab onto Battousai's gi. The king moved out of the way by stepping back, giving her a blank stare. She cried out, jumbling her sentences and telling him to wait till tomorrow. Outside, the guards heard her cry out and felt uneasy at the thought of hearing another girl die. The cry could even be heard in the Bride's room, where the girls all hugged each other in terror.

In a surprising move, Battousai's gaze relented and he finally turned into the bedroom. "You will finish the story tomorrow night!"

Kaoru breathed a sigh of relief and quickly ran back into the room and locked the door. Battousai had already left out of the main entrance and now she was alone. It was time for her to sneak away and talk to the one man who could help her. The wonderful storyteller who had trained her for so long, Doctor Gensai.

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_Hey! That is the end of the first chapter. It definitely took longer than I thought because of the dang story. I made most of it up so… And in reality it was longer because it lasted most of the night. Well, thanks for the reviews! And thanks for pointing out that mistake...-- I can be quite foolish! Hehe. Anyways, please review. And ignore the next paragraph. My sis told me if I erased it she wouldn't help me anymore. Urgh…_

_P.S. She'd also like to thank her wonderful older sister Whit195 for proof reading her story. Because Whit195 did an amazing job with editing, fixing sentence structure, pointing out unclear statements, etc. (If anything is wrong, Ember must have messed with it after her amazing sister did her job ) And Ember would also like to thank her dearest sister for teaching her so much, and for being her role model, for spending time with her and pointing out all her errors. If you review, please give all the credit to me, er, I mean Whit195, because it would not be the same story without me...her._


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